Nutritionists have called on government to introduce a Sugar-Sweetened Beverage tax on sugary drinks as part of renewed efforts to curb the rising burden of non-communicable diseases in Uganda.
The nutritionists say increasing taxes on products with high sugar content would raise prices, discourage excessive consumption, reduce obesity rates, and protect public health, including children who are the most affected.
According to the World Health Organisation, high consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages increases the risk of excess weight and obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, dental caries and osteoporosis, among other health complications.
Speaking during a health workshop organised by the Centre for Food and Adequate Living Rights on Friday, Prof Charles Muyanja, a lecturer at Makerere University’s Department of Food Technology and Nutrition, said the proposed tax could help address the growing challenge of childhood obesity in Uganda.
Prof Muyanja proposed that taxes target products containing added sugars, including sodas, fruit drinks, energy drinks, sweetened teas and flavoured water, reasoning that the intervention would contribute to reducing diet-related diseases.
‘If you increase the tax on sugar and oil, you are doing a very good service to the consumers, the price will increase, and people won’t buy a lot of oil and will consume less. We are warning the consumers to make informed choices,’ he stated.
‘For the industries, we are not going to take their products from the market, it helps them to increase their profits, if their food meets WHO recommendations, and consumers will buy them,’ Prof Muyanja added.
He tasked the Ministry of Health to strengthen regulations that require mandatory front-of-pack labelling and restrict the marketing of unhealthy food products, especially those targeting children, to help consumers make informed choices.
In the same regard, Martin Wambona, CEFROHT programmes coordinator, said there is an urgent need to regulate food products as protection of public health remains a national priority given the growing health and economic burden of obesity and diet-related diseases.
‘We are seeing an increase in the number of overweight and obese children who cannot even cross the roads while going to school, which affects their cognitive ability. We need strong regulations to hinder consumers from purchasing these products,’ he noted.
Mr Wambona warned that some products on the market are altered to become sweeter, last longer and encourage repeated consumption through the use of added sugar, non-sugar sweeteners and other ingredients that consumers may not fully understand.
However, when asked about the comments on the proposed regulations and government interventions to protect consumers from highly sweetened products, the Ministry of Health spokesperson, Emmanuel Ainebyona, declined to comment directly on the tax proposal, saying taxation falls under broader government policy discussions.
‘I can’t comment on this issue; you need to talk to the Health Minister because it is a tax policy matter,’ he stated during a short phone interview on Saturday.
By press time, efforts to get the comment from the Health Minister, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, were futile as he did not pick up his phone.
In the FY2026/27 budget, government increased excise duty on cooking oil from Shs200 to Shs400 per litre to raise Shs25 billion; sugar from Shs100 to Shs200 per kilogram to generate another Shs25 billion; and cooking fat to Shs500 per kilogram, expected to raise Shs15 billion.
The measures were welcomed by nutritionists. According to data from the Uganda Heart Institute, cardiovascular diseases remain among the leading causes of death in Uganda, claiming more than 27,000 lives annually, with a mortality rate of 223 deaths per 100,000 people.
Globally, WHO’s 2025 report on the use of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes indicates that by July 2024, at least 116 countries had introduced national-level excise taxes on at least one type of sugar-sweetened beverage, with 114 countries specifically taxing sugar-sweetened carbonated drinks.